memeorandum: Trump says he's an ‘island of one’ on Syria (Associated Press)

7:50 AM ET, October 13, 2019

Top Items:

Trump's envoy to testify that ‘no quid pro quo’ came from Trump — The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, intends to tell Congress this week that the content of a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine was relayed to him directly by President Trump in a phone call …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NBC News, The Hill, Mediaite, Raw Story and NPR

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

Gordon Sondland to Testify He Took Trump's Denial of Ukraine Quid Pro Quo at His Word — The U.S. ambassador to the EU to say he couldn't independently verify president's assertion — WASHINGTON—The U.S. ambassador to the European Union plans to tell Congress that President Trump personally assured …

Richard Read / Los Angeles Times: Sondland faces local backlash denying Trump deal in Ukraine

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria — Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a U.S. Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Friday have known for months that Americans were there …

Discussion: American Greatness, UPI, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and twitchy.com

Associated Press:

Trump says he's an ‘island of one’ on Syria — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he's an “island of one” for removing U.S. forces from northeastern Syria. — Trump's decision drew swift bipartisan criticism in the U.S. and abroad that he was endangering regional stability …

Discussion: The Hill and Breitbart

Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated Press: IS supporters escape as Turkish troops near key Syrian town

New York Times: Syrian Arab Fighters Backed by Turkey Kill Two Kurdish Prisoners

Kurdistan24:
Senior female Kurdish political leader killed in ambush in Syria

Discussion: Jerusalem Post and Occupy Democrats

CNN:
Exclusive: Military leader of Syrian Kurds tells US ‘you are leaving us to be slaughtered’

Discussion: Common Dreams, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Mediaite and The Week

New York Times:
Trump's Abrupt Shifts in Middle East Unnerve U.S. Allies

Discussion: Foreign Policy

New York Times: Militants Backed by Turkey Kill at Least Two Prisoners in Syria

Washington Post:
Turkey's invasion of Syria puts Islamic State fight on hold at a critical time

Discussion: Power Line

Newsweek: Exclusive: Kurdish allies learned of Trump's Syria pullout on Twitter: “We were like, ‘What is this sh*t?’”

BuzzFeed News:

A Fort Worth Cop Killed A Black Woman Inside Her Home After Her Neighbor Called Police Because Her Door Was Open — A black woman was shot and killed by police inside her own home early Saturday morning in Fort Worth, Texas, after her neighbor called a non-emergency police number for a wellness check on her.

Discussion: ABC News, New York Times and UPI

Jack Howland / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Woman killed in own home when Fort Worth officer shoots her, police and witness say — A white Fort Worth officer fatally shot a black woman inside her home early Saturday morning after police were called to the house to do a welfare check, according to police and the neighbor who called them.

Discussion: NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, Occupy Democrats and New York Post

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

2014 photograph shows earlier ties between Trump and indicted Giuliani associate — A photograph of President Donald Trump posing with a recently indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani was posted online in March 2014, two years prior to what had been their first known interaction.

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, emptywheel, Washington Post and Vox

Washington Post:

How two Soviet-born emigres made it into elite Trump circles — and the center of the impeachment storm — Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born emigre, appeared at a dark time in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Less than a month before the election, major GOP donors had been spooked …

CNN:

Trump threatens to sue top Democrats Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi amid impeachment inquiry — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday night to sue top congressional Democrats Rep. Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amid the House impeachment inquiry into the President.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Associated Press:
Trump backs Giuliani, but some aides wish he would cut ties

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Dan Balz / Washington Post: Impeachment has put Trump in a different place. He's showing it every day.

Batya Ungar-Sargon / The Forward:

I Was Protested At Bard College For Being A Jew — When I was asked to speak at last week's conference on racism and anti-Semitism at Bard College's Hannah Arendt Center, I think my heart actually skipped a beat. — Arendt, the German-born political philosopher who fled the Nazis in the 1930s …

Mary Kay Linge / New York Post:

Fox News pollster Braun Research misrepresented impeachment poll: analysis — The poll released last week by Fox News that claimed most Americans favor the impeachment of President Trump underrepresented Republican and independent voters, The Post has found.

New York Times:

In Show of Support, Trump Meets With Giuliani Over Lunch — The president's multiple shows of support for his personal lawyer on Saturday seemed meant to tamp down questions about Mr. Giuliani's standing. — WASHINGTON — President Trump had lunch on Saturday with Rudolph W. Giuliani amid revelations …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Times and Fox News

CNN:
Rudy Giuliani tells CNN he's unaware he's under investigation for Ukraine involvement

Discussion: Al Jazeera, New York Times, New York Post, Associated Press, The Hill, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Public Pool and Vox

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
‘The Beacon Has Gone Out’: What Trump and Giuliani Have Wrought

Discussion: CNBC, POLITICUSUSA, NBC News, CANNONFIRE, Law & Crime, Reuters, The Daily Caller and Mother Jones

New York Times:

12 Hours. 4 Syrian Hospitals Bombed. One Culprit: Russia. — The Russians saved Bashar al-Assad's government. A trove of Russian Air Force recordings obtained by The Times shows how bombing Syrian hospitals helped them do it. — The Russian Air Force has repeatedly bombed hospitals …

Vandana Rambaran / Fox News:

Louisiana election heads to runoff with Democrat Edwards to face GOP's Rispone — Louisiana's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, will have to face a runoff election in November as he failed to garner at least 50 percent of the votes in Saturday's election.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico and The New Neo

Stephanie Baker / Bloomberg:

Hunter Biden Steps Down from Chinese Board Amid Trump Attacks — Democratic candidate's son releases statement through lawyer — Trump, Giuliani have accused him of unsubstantiated corruption — Hunter Biden is stepping down from the board of a Chinese-backed private equity company …